Three Words That Describe This Book: time loop, character driven, wholly original
Further Appeal: Saying wholly original about a time loop seems like an oxymoron, and here it is NOT and exactly why I have those are my three words. It is also intensely uneasy but all Time Loop novels are so I think that is implied, It is also darkly humorous, thought-provoking, and really empowering. This is Willa's story of how she is going to figure out the human she wants to be-- not defined by her partner or friends-- but herself. The only way out is through. Literally and figuratively. This is a time loop novel that knows it is a time loop novel but also wants to be itself. It achieves that at every turn of the page.
II need to start with a few things here. First, I have not officially reviewed a RH book since her debut because horror reviewers were hard enough to find at Booklist and LJ and RH was an author librarian reviewers loved to be assigned. I allowed others -- who I knew would do her books justice-- to get the titles they wanted while I focused on others. But, second, as I did a few stops on our books tours together last fall and RH was talking about this novel-- in revisions at that time-- I was like wait, what? I am a sucker for a Time Loop story always. So literally 9 months ago I told my editor at Booklist that I HAD to review this one. I will step back next time for someone else.
And I am glad I did.
The premise is in the summary. It is a wedding time loop. Willa is our MC and narrator. She is the one stuck in the time loop, but this is not a time loop like you ever read before. When I got to the second loop-- well that is when I knew this book was going to be 5 stars.
I do not want to give much away here but what she does with the time loop itself if darkly humorous, touching, disturbing, unsettling, and also, the resolution is great. It is a true resolution from a SF background and I loved that. Also the way the loop alters each time is AMAZING. It adds urgency, thought provoking seriousness and dark humor to it all.
And the connection to how she starts to get info on how to leave the loop-- perfection!
This is not a "rom-com" time loop either. This is Willa's story. She is a mess of anxiety and depression and not just because she chose to end her own wedding a few months before this book opens. And not just because she is going to see her ex. She has always been that way and she has always felt bad about being too much for others or that her feelings weren't validated. Her first action to make her own story and live as her authentic self came when she broke off her engagement but the test to how she would go through it all to get to the other side--- that is this book.
Time Loop stories are also character centered always and that is why I love them. When the "plot" repeats over and over, the reason you read is the characters. But also, the new twist RH adds to the entire Time Loop subgenre here means that the plot is different in key ways each time. This allows Willa to grow as a character and flesh out for us, but it also allows the other main players to be fleshed out. She spends more time with different people each time and that makes the entire book better.
Because this is a time loop novel, and because RH does follow the outline of the subgenre even while making key changes to make it her own, readers know the loop will end. But one of the best things about this novel is that the thing that caused her to be in the time loop-- well it has a history itself and she stops her loop but the reader is left with the lingering knowledge that it has harmed others in the past and the fear that it will do so again. LOVED THAT.
Readalikes: Yes this is for people who like time loop horror like The Gone World by Sweterlitsch and The Shining Girls by Beukes and even time loop adjacent novels like Dark Matter by Crouch, but this book is HORROR (with those capitals) that seeks to honor the traditions of the genre while also making it something new. It investigates the genre itself. For that reason, my main readalikes are Lucky Day by Tingle and I Was a Teenaged Slasher by SGJ.
When digging into the darkest corners of history, no one is spared from the monsters unearthed. Set five years after the action of The Only Good Indians, Jones’ companion novel begins with one of its only survivors, Nate Yellow Tail, severely injured after robbing the home of a wealthy “Summer Indian.” While in the hospital, Nurse Seine recruits Nate to join a rag-tag group of Indians, herself, a mute young man dressed like a priest, and the RV owner, actively grieving the death of her husband and sons, on a quest from their Montana reservation to Pennsylvania’s infamous Carlisle Indian School to repatriate the bones of a murdered Blackfeet boy. However, gathering the bones is only half the story, as something evil is determined to follow them home, unless Nate can make his own last stand. A hilarious road trip novel, a fresh, non-religious take on the possession trope, a visceral and vulnerable character study, laying bare a 360 degree view of the horrors of being Native in America. More than the sum of its perfectly constructed parts, this is a horror novel where every detail works together, deepening the emotional impact for all. For fans of Iglesias’ The Devil Takes You Home and the possession trope as reimagined by Cordova in Monstrilio.
Three Words That Describe This Book: immersive, non-Christian possession, visceral/venerable/hilarious
Further AppelL More words-- Every detail matters, immersive, character centered, road trip horror, revenge horror, horror of historical racism especially as inflicted upon the marginalized people, intense dread from start that literally bursts open, possession trope reimagined, nuanced characters, exorcism of racism, intense, uneasy.
First thing first, this is a companion novel to The Only Good Indians. It is only a sequel in that it comes 5 years after the action of the first. (TOGI is 2011 and this is 2016) There are multiple povs here but our main narrator is Nate Yellow Tail-- the only survivor of the massacre at the sweat lodge in TOGI and also the on and off again boyfriend of D, the basketball player and (in my opinion) the young woman who carries the hope fort he further at the end of TOGI.
You can read these in any order though. Seriously. Each will inform the other.
And one of the threads here is what makes a "Good Indian" maybe even more so than in TOGI as multiple characters struggle with this-- or maybe don't but should in the case of one very sure of himself PhD holding Indian.
Okay let's get to this book. Just like SGJ took the Vampire trope by the horns and made it something totally new with The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, a great horror novel, but also a thoughtful deep dive into the horror that is being Native in America, here he does both by taking the possession trope on a roadtrip (literally and figuratively). It is one of the most terrifying, violent, and visceral road trips ever, but it is also tender, vulnerable, and honestly, hilarious.
Like all of his novels, there is a lot of vengeance here, but the revenge is not just the Natives against an America that has caused them so much ruin (so many examples here like always) but also there is a lot of revenge here against each other in so many nuanced and varied ways. It is about how humans hurt each other, but also how many still seek to do as much good as they are capable of.
The character building drives this story. The POV is spread around so as readers we know the characters from themselves and others. It enhances the story. Especially because most of the action is inside an RV. There are 4 Indians on this road trip. Nate a high schooler, Nurse Seine (Plenty Wolf) who springs him out of the hospital (about 60), Christian-- a young man, seemingly mute, dressed as a priest, and Mooch, clearly younger than Plenty Wolf but with all white hair-- it turned white after she lost all three of her sons and her husband (not at once, but the story of their deaths is shared and for her husband and one son in particular, those stories are key to the novel).
Let me back up, Nate is in the hospital AGAIN (because he was after TOGI) because he and a friend break into a "Summer Indian's" reservation luxury home, they destroy it, steal a few things -- but when returning to the car, it is hit by a gravel truck. The friend is on life support and Nate is trying to recover. But while this is an "inciting incident" to start the novel and it does come into play later -- as there are a few key twists in the second half here after they get the bones...see next paragraph.
So what is the roadtrip for-- well they are driving to the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School, to grab the bones of a Native young boy who was murdered there and repatriate them home. Why they are each on this quest is part of the story. But they get the bones in the middle of the novel and that is when the book goes from a road-trip novel to a possession horror story, but they are also still on a road trip back.
I love SGJ's writing because every single detail matters. He crafts these interesting and engaging characters-- and the 4 Indians in this RV might be some of the best ever-- provides a lot of details about them, I don't want to give them away, but one example the motorbike caught mid air and impaled into the RV's rear as a tribute to one character's dead son, that alone and the details around it ALL END UP MATTERING. That's a big thing, but it is but one example of many.
The 1988 movie WAR PARTY is also key here. You will want to look it up, find a copy, get lost in the problematic nature of it, but also, see the love/pride the characters have for it. Again it is nuanced and complicated. I hope this book allows more people to see and discuss the movie.
The Little Bighorn monument is key as well. As is the 2016 Standing Rock protests of the Dakota Pipeline protests. And very key-- 2016 is the year after the inflatable dinosaur costumes came into our world-- Not going to share more than that but note above when I said there was hilarity here. Not dark humor, hilarity.
This book is more than the sum of its parts. There is an ongoing nuanced description of what it means to be a "good Indian" but it is all wrapped up in a perfectly executed roadtrip/possession/revenge horror novel. The horror is not sacrificed for the serious discussion of the legacy of oppression on the oppressed people and in their interactions with each other.
It is Nate Yellow Tail's Last Stand-- pun intended.
A hilarious road trip horror story, a bold new, non-Christian take on the possession novel, a Visceral and vulnerable character driven story. with a 360 degree view of the horrors of oppression visible as they drive across the upper plains of American.
I have written many words here, but I have given NOTHING away.
Did I mention....every detail matters? I cannot stress enough, this is what is best about SGJ's writing. He throws a lot at the reader, sometimes, it seems like it is there just to stand out and for no reason, but NO, as a reader, you know and trust ever detail will some into play-- Nate's pee shyness is a great example.
For fans of road trip horror in the vein of The Devil Takes you Home by Iglesias (linked and mentioned above), Razorblade Tears by Cosby, or When the Wolf Comes Home by Cassidy, and the possession trope as reimagined and explored by Cordova in Monstrilio (mentioned above and also mentioned by SGJ in his acknowledgments)-- not based on the Christian devil and exorcism rules, although cleverly one character is named Christian, carries a bible, and dresses like priest (and the reason is amazing and heart breaking when you find out the full story).
Ten years after the events of We Are Always Tender With Our Dead readers return to the blighted, rotten town of Burnt Sparrow, NH. Rupert and Gladys are still trapped within the walls of End House, unable to even poke a finger over the threshold without their skin unraveling. The claustrophobia and anxiety are already intense, when one day their regular grocery delivery comes with an anonymous confession letter addressed to Rupert. The details of that letter are shocking, but they also provide the spark that blows the story wide open, allowing Rupert and Gladys the chance to taste freedom. However, once they cross this threshold, they can never go back to the way things were and the horror of this both discomfiting and titillating. LaRocca holds readers rapt, engrossing them in a tale of layered depravities, confident they will be unable to look away. An exemplary middle book of a trilogy; a strong stand-alone story that plants the seed of the finale to come; a tale that honors the history of the Gothic but gives it new life by injecting it with the alluring catharsis of transgressive horror; for fans of Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite.
Three Words That Describe This Book: crossing thresholds, extreme horror meets Gothic, engrossing
Further Appeal: Other words: claustrophobic, epic, immersive, disturbing and yet, you cannot look away. Great use of stories within stories.
When you read this book, terrible things are happening. They begin bad-- Rupert and Gladys have been trapped in End House for 10 years since readers last saw them. Burst Sparrow is still a rotted, blighted, horrible place, a place that stands in opposition to all living things that wish to grow and flourish. A place where hopelessness has rooted itself like cancer. Readers come back and hope things will get better.
Well, again, listen to LaRocca with the book’s trigger warnings-- it won't get better and in fact it will get worse in ways you cannot comprehend. But also, you will be UNABLE to look away.
The claustrophobia of the story-- the two of them trapped in the house-- and we see what happens multiple times if you try to leave, it is not in their heads-- is building in a way that we readers know it is about to burst. I mean it has been 10 monotonous years. There is a temporary solution to their predicament that is figured out, but this is the story we are reading.
Regarding Crossing thresholds: There is a point in this book where Rupert mentions that the stories his mom told him are all about crossing thresholds and well--- that is this book as well-- literally and figuratively-- both the plot but also, this is book 2 in a trilogy. The job of the middle book in a trilogy is to build a bridge from book one to three, it is the book that allows readers to cross the threshold from the story they got sucked into and takes the far enough along that they are craving the third book. Many second books in trilogies fall flat because they have to be a good story on their own and do this heavy lifting-- carrying the reader. Here we get a fascinating story by an author who understands the work that has to be done.
This story allows Rupert and Gladys and their impossible situation to cross a threshold, one that once they cross, they cannot go back. It also allows the story to cross a threshold to move us all toward book 3. Well done.
The use of stories with the story-- this time mostly through confessional letters that Rupert receives as part of the secretive Perdido Society-- those letters create both a standalone story and service to move the plot forward. LaRocca does this frequently in his work and it is always engrossing but here it is particularly useful to the plot.
LaRocca's writing never ceases to amaze me. Every single time I read anything they write I go through the gamut of emotions-- intrigued and illicit things, disgusted, revulsion, sympathy, anger, sadness, rejoicing at things I probably shouldn't rejoice at. And the entire time, no matter how uncomfortable the writing makes me feel, I keep turning the pages. And when I look up, I blink and literally notice how many dozens of pages have flown by. Where did they go? How long was I held rapt by the storytelling? The pages literally melt away. And I remember everything I read. The images, the characters, the details that he plants and comes back to. It is quite remarkable.
I am waiting for this NOT to happen. If it ever does, he will get less than 5 stars. It has not happened yet. LaRocca draws readers into this dark, blighted, sickening world and like Rupert and Gladys, you cannot leave. But unlike them, you really don't want to.
Plants the seeds for book three-- this word choice is intentional. Not a spoiler but when you read this book you will understand that word choice.
I have shared VERY little about what happens here, but trust me, you want to read it. Also don't worry about re-reading the first Burnt Sparrow book. The major points you need to remember-- LaRocca shares. Now if you never read the first book, you might be a little lost, but if you read the back cover of book 1 and know that there was the massacre-- that is enough to ground you and LaRocca fills in enough of the blanks. But I will say, the Brunt Sparrow trilogy is many to be one book released in three parts, so go back and read We Are Always Tender With Our Dead.
Also can I just say, I know Eric has great titles for his books but this one is particularly perfect for this book. Again, no spoilers, but *chef's kiss*
Further Readalikes: You can check all of my reviews of LaRocca in the past to see more, but I gave you three authors to start with.
